There is no love lost between Notre Dame and Michigan when it comes to football. After Saturday’s final scheduled meeting between the two storied programs, one team will leave the relationship with major bragging rights, while the other will be left to lick its wounds for the foreseeable future.
16th ranked Notre Dame used a stiff defensive effort combined with a powerful offensive performance, led by Irish quarterback Everett Golson, to shutout the visiting Wolverines 31-0 Saturday night in South Bend.
Golson, in just his second game back with Notre Dame since leaving the school 18 months ago, threw for 226 yards and three touchdowns and displayed what is arguably the strongest arm in college football.
Even as Michigan outgained the Irish 289-280, Notre Dame made the most of its opportunities on offense and picked off Wolverines quarterback Devin Gardner three times in the rout.
Facing a 21-0 halftime deficit, Gardner and the Michigan offense were forced to come out slinging in the second half. The Notre Dame defense reacted by consistently harassing Gardner in the backfield, sacking him multiple times and forcing repeated errant throws when it could not bring him down.
The shutout marks the first time in history that Michigan failed to put points on the board in the rivalry between the two schools that began in the late 1800s. It was also the first game since 1984 that the Wolverines were kept off the scoreboard, ending its streak of 376 games.
Notre Dame started the evening with a 1 yard Cam McDaniel touchdown run late in the first quarter that put the Irish up 7-0. Late in the second frame, Golson hit Amir Carlisle on a one yard pass to go up 14-0. After a Michigan punt, Golson led the Notre Dame offense on a 6 play, 56 yard drive in just 50 seconds that culminated in a touchdown pass to William Fuller which sent the Irish into the locker room with a 21-0 lead.
Notre Dame was never threatened by Michigan in the second half. The game ended on an Elijah Shumate interception that was initially returned for a series punctuating touchdown. However, the play was called back after a personal foul was called on Notre Dame for an illegal block on Gardner. The Irish then took a knee to end what is one of the greatest rivalries in all of sports.
While Notre Dame opted to dump Michigan from its schedule to allow for an ACC-heavy line-up in upcoming seasons, many football fans across the country, and indeed in the 100 mile radius that separates the two schools, wish that somehow the teams can agree to renew the annual meeting.
For the immediate future, however, bragging rights will reside in South Bend and the sting of defeat will remain in Ann Arbor.
